Obsolete
by xturtle787x
Summary: After two separate abuse incidents, Sendou Aichi vowed never to trust anyone. So what happens when an interesting plot twist in the form of an old friend comes in? Kaichi in later chapters.
1. Metaphors and Raindrops

**Before we begin, I'd like to clarify that this story is to be set at the beginning of season one. When I say beginning, I mean around episodes 1 and 2. The _very_ beginning. Also, Aichi is 15 in this fic instead of 14. Judging by that, you can probably guess it's going to be an AU fic. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard in any way, shape, or form.**

**Now, without further ado, please enjoy this story. :)**

* * *

Rain. Another metaphor. Hopes, dreams, aspirations. The drops each have their own source. The same goes for the hopes, the dreams, and the aspirations. When each drop falls to the ground, it becomes its own puddle. Eventually it soaks a section of the earth. Eventually it affects more than just a small space of earth. The drops create a bigger puddle and the water, the hope, spreads.

Talking about tears in a metaphorical sense to rain seems too unrealistic to me. Why would clouds have to cry? The sky doesn't have the ability to feel, much less cry. The same could be said about comparing it to hope I suppose. But I like the idea. All raindrops will always meet a surface once they start to fall; it may be a human, it may be the ground. Once hope descends, it may hit a person, or it may fall flat on the ground. It's a much more colorful comparison than a the simple metaphor of tears and rain.

I trace my finger against my foggy window pane, drawing a straight line to look out of. Raindrops appear on the other side of the line, racing each down to the bottom. It reminds me of the game I used to play when Emi and I were smaller. We would each pick a raindrop and bet on which would win. It was such a simple game, yet it kept us occupied for hours. I almost smile at the memory.

"Aichi! You're going to be late for school!" I hear my sister Emi call.

"Thanks Emi." I murmur. I'm sure she doesn't hear me, but the reply momentarily gives me peace of mind.

I retrieve my briefcase from under my bed and set it on my desk chair. The few papers I worked on the night before are still scattered on my desk. I push them into a pile and slide them into my briefcase. I don't have to worry about organization; it comes natural. The papers were already in the desired order the minute I was done with them. I turn around to head downstairs when I notice Emi at the door.

"Well then! It's good to see you're finally getting up on your own. Here I thought I'd have to come wake you up again.." I smile at her.

"Emi.." She blinks and tilts her head to the side. I say nothing, just shake my head. She knits her eyebrows together and sighs.

"I think you still have time for a little breakfast. It's sitting at the table downstairs." She says in a quieter tone.

"Thanks.."

She gives me a small smile and shakes her head before heading back downstairs. I follow her, briefcase in hand, and make a quick stop in the dining room.

"Good morning Aichi!" Mom greets me. She looks over her shoulder and gives me a smile.

"Morning mom." I murmur. I look down at my breakfast tray pensively. I'm never really in the mood to eat much in the mornings, but Mom insists on making me a full-sized breakfast. I look over at her. She's standing at the sink in the kitchen washing the rest of the breakfast dishes. I immediately feel bad for not wanting to eat the breakfast she worked so hard to make, so I sit down at the seat. I hear footsteps enter the dining room from the hall.

"You better hurry up Aichi! Even though you were awake a little earlier today, you're going to have to speed it up if you want to make it to school on time." Emi tells me, patting her hair down a bit. I nod slightly. Emi always tries to act much older than she is. It's like she's already training to become a mom. She's 10 years old and still in elementary school. I'm 15 years old, a few weeks into my high school career.

I pick up a piece of toast and take a small bite of it. The toast tastes bland without any butter, so I spread some on. Might as well enjoy what I'm eating even if I'm not hungry.

I finish off the piece of toast and pick up my briefcase.

"Done already?" Mom asks, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Yes. Sorry, I'm not very hungry today.." Her eyes soften at my confession.

"It's quite already. I can save it all for later. You two better get going now, have fun at school!"

* * *

I walk down the street, taking in all my surroundings. The rain hasn't stopped yet, but it has succumbed to a drizzle, so I walk without an umbrella. There aren't many other people out on the streets. I assume most of them took advantage of their cars on this gloomy morning. I walk everyday because we live close enough to the school anyway.

When I arrive at the front entrance, I notice very few people lingering around as well. It's always unusual to see the high school's front lawn not littered with students loitering around until the bell implores them to get to class.

I walk up the steps to the front entrance and head inside. No sense waiting out on the lawn alone.

The hallways are a much different story than out front. Inside, students litter the hallways and chatter incessantly about nominal things. _What did you do this weekend? Who did your hair? Is that a new pair of glasses?_ I try my best to tune them out, but one can only do so much when there are so many conversations going on at once.

I skip going to my locker this morning because I have all the stuff I need. Instead, I head down the hallway to my first period class.

As expected, I'm the first one in the class room. Even the teachers tend to wait until the bell to come strolling in. I set my briefcase down at my normal seat in the first row next to the window. The room is dead silent.

It's almost insufferable how much the silence speaks. How can the very definition of lack of sound be so _loud_? Just the idea of not having any sound, no matter how soft, is maddening. How one is left alone with their screaming thoughts, with no sort of reprieve or remedy. It's mind-boggling. It's mind-boggling and down-right terrifying. You know why? Because loneliness pervades silence and the thought of being alone scares people. Seclusion is followed by the irrational fear that no one understands you. But is the fear really irrational when it's all too real?

The bell rings. I look down at my fist laying on top of the desk. I clench and unclench it a few times before resting my hands in my lap.

The "earlies" come sauntering in with bored expressions on their faces. They probably wish that they could go home and never have to come to school again. I don't blame them.

Desks continue to fill up, but the teacher remains missing. Naturally, this means troubles ensue.

"Hey Shy-chi!" A voice calls. I ignore the person. Instead, I lay my head down in my arms and look out the window.

"Shy-chi, I _know_ you heard me." The rain seems to have picked up a bit.

"_Shy-chi!_" A streak of lightning flashes in the distance.

_Boom! _A fist lands on my desk, inches from my head. I lift my head up lazily to look at it's owner.

"What do you what Morikawa?"

"Oh, we're back to formalities, are we Sendou? That hurts." He touches his heart in mock-hurt. I don't reply, just stare at him blankly. He coughs awkwardly.

The teacher walks in a few seconds later, saving him from having to make any more fake conversation with me. I notice he relaxes as he heads back to his seat.

"Alright settle down, settle down. I trust by this noise that you all had a lovely weekend.."

My eyes find their way to another race of raindrops.

* * *

**1,334 words.**

**I changed my writing style solely for this story. I hope that it's okay. I wanted there to be a contrast to how simple Aichi's life seems on the outside, but how complex it can be on the inside.**

**Anyway, reviews would be lovely. Our favorite brunette will make his first appearance in either chapter 2 or 3, I haven't decided yet. ^_^**


	2. Memories and Math Problems

**And here is the second chapter. I didn't imagine I'd be able to rack up 5 reviews, 4 favorites, and 7 alerts. This is quite a small fandom, so I thank you all for showing your support! This chapter didn't come as naturally as the first, so I can only hope that it still pleases you guys.  
**

**Sorry for all the line breaks; this chapter has a lot of flashbacks and I don't know how else to make them more prominent besides line breaks and italics.**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard in any way, shape, or form.**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_"Sweetheart, please stop!" A women shouted, horrified at what she was seeing. The man released the boy's collar and looked over at her._

_"You don't see it, do you? This boy is a disgrace to the family! He's completely useless! It would be better off if he just disappeared out of this home and out of our lives!" The man snarled at her. He looked back down at the crumpled form that lay in front of him in disgust._

_"Why were you even born, child? Misery and suffering; that's all you're good for!"  
_

* * *

I snap my eyes open. The first thing I see is the window and that I had been staring out of. I rub my eyes to try to get rid of my blurry vision, but it proves futile as the remnants of sleep can only go away on their own.

The dream I had.. it was more of a memory than anything else. I try not to relive certain memories, particularly that one, but sometimes I can't help it when they pop into my mind. I remember him tormenting me, ridiculing me, my own weakness as I let my emotions get the better of me. He found my weakness in words, realizing that they hurt me more than any of his beatings. After that, it was like hammering a nail into my skin. Each insult made the nail go deeper, made it more painful.

At least.. at least he's gone for good. I'll never have to be tortured with any of his coarse words or actions.

I look around the classroom to see many people getting their notebooks out. I copy them and bring out my own notebook, feigning attentiveness.

"We'll start with the review on page 204. Would someone like to come up to the board and do number 3 as a guide for us?" The teacher asks. Her eyes wander, and upon seeing no hands raised, come to rest on me. She gives me a small smile.

"Mr. Sendou, great!" She says. I didn't raise my hand, but it's in her nature to act as though someone volunteered when the opposite is actually true. She turns her back to write the problem on the board for me and I flip to the page in the text book. _Solve using the quadratic formula._ Simple enough.

"Alright Mr. Sendou, the stage is yours." The teacher proclaims, walking toward me with a piece of chalk. I accept it from her and walk up to the black board. I can feel numerous eyes peering into my back, but I do my best to ignore them and focus on the problem.

_x^2 + -14x + 45 = 0_

_Easy enough._

I start solving the problem, half of my mind somewhere else entirely. Only when I'm done solving the problem do I realize that it is, miraculously, correct.

"Alright people, please finish copying this down if you don't have it! You should have 5 and 9 as your answers, just as Mr. Sendou here did." I look around to see most people either copying it down or talking to their neighbor. I feel a pair of eyes lingering on me, so I turn my head in the direction of the gaze.

My eyes find a pair of familiar turquoise ones staring back at me.

Familiar.. yet I can't seem to quite place who they belong to. The teen has brown hair and is resting his chin in his hand.

"Mr. Sendou, you can sit back down now." The teacher says, trying to hide the amusement in her voice. I blush, realizing I stood upfront a bit too long, and return to my seat.

In my mind, I'm still trying to piece together who the person is. He looks awfully familiar, yet I can't quite figure out who he is. I glance back over to where he is sitting, but his head is turned in the opposite direction. I shake my head and pick up my pencil to begin copying my own problem off the board.

As I pick up my pencil, I feel my arm brush against the breast pocket of my shirt. I reach in the pocket to pluck out the book that I put in there every morning.

I slide my hand over the cover of the book, already feeling any tinge of lingering worry or embarrassment fade away. I open the book and look at the item safely preserved on the first page.

_Blaster Blade._

* * *

_"Man, you're a mess!" A brunette said, running to catch up with me. I hesitated, but looked over at the boy talking to me._

_"Did you lose a fight or something?" The brunette continued. I sighed sadly and continued walking._

_"Hey, wait, hang on!" The taller boy moved in front of me and dug for something in his pocket. I stopped and looked up at the person blocking my path, eyes dark._

_"Here, you can have this." The brunette told me, pulling out a card and giving it to me. I looked at the card, curious. I took it after a bit of hesitation._

What's this? _I wonder, looking at the card. There's a warrior pictured. A tall, fearless warrior with a sword stands with confidence on the card._

_"That's a really tough warrior you have in your hands there." The brunette leaned in closer, "Cheer up already! Try to imagine yourself becoming powerful like that warrior." I continued to study the card, eyes downcast._

_"I-I can't." I muttered. The brunette laughed._

_"At first, of course you can't, but if you believe in yourself, then nothing can stop you from becoming just like this big, strong Blaster Blade!"_

_"I can get strong?" I asked softly._

_"If you let that image be your power!" _

* * *

I smile slightly at the card in my hands, remembering the day it was given to me. I didn't imagine that a solace for confidence could be found in a single card, but it has proved to be very comforting. I slip the small book back in my pocket, a small smile still on my face.

I continue to do my math work until class comes to an end, my mind still not entirely where it should be.

"Alright class, the bell is about to ring! I'd like you to finish that work for homework." The teacher says, organizing her desk.

I, along with the rest of the class, begin to pack my stuff up. The bell rings not a minute later, and I'm free to go home.

"Have a lovely day!" The teacher tells us, smiling at us as we hurry out the door.

I make my way to the front door slowly, wishing to evade the stampede headed toward their respective buses.

My walk home is relatively short, and because I don't have much to do tonight, I take the longer route that goes by the park. I don't notice footsteps behind me until I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey there Aichi." A voice I recognize from this morning greets me. _At least he used my actual name._

"Morikawa."

"I didn't know _you_ were a Vanguard Fighter." He remarks. I turn around and look at him, confused.

"Vanguard Fighter?" I ask. He sighs, annoyed.

"Don't play dumb. A Vanguard Fighter. Someone who fights with Vanguard cards." He tells me, flicking his hand. "You're one, right?"

"No." I tell him, turning around to leave. I jump back when I see Izaki standing behind me, smirking.

"Then what was that rare card in your pocket?" Morikawa asks. I turn to him with a glare.

"None of your business." His eyes darken.

"Izaki." He says. In that instant, I feel my arms being held back behind me. I try to break free, but Izaki has a firm hold on me. Morikawa smirks.

"I'll just see about that." He says, reaching into my pocket. He opens the book and his expression turns into one of excitement.

"It really is Blaster Blade! I can finally beat that guy with this!" He says, taking the card out of the book.

"Give it back Morikawa! That card means a lot to me!" I snap. Morikawa and Izaki look at me, dumbfounded. I seize the opportunity to try to snatch the card back. Unfortunately, Izaki recovers in time to keep a firm hold on me.

"Oh, so the puppy has some bite to it, eh?"

I freeze.

* * *

_"Oh, this puppy isn't all bark, is it?" The man laughed evilly._

_"Please.. stop.." I whimpered. I had backed myself into the corner of the room, inevitably trapping myself and stopping any previous thoughts of escape. My eyes widened as he can closer, visibly wielding a knife._

_"Don't you get it? I'm the creator of this game. Your petty little pleadings aren't going to change my course of action." He said, smiling wickedly. I wished I could become part of the wall as he leaned his head down right next to my ear._

_"And now this game is has just begun." He whispered. And the pain began._

* * *

Laughter.

"Chill Shy-chi! You look like you've seen a ghost. All I did was call you a puppy!" I clench my teeth. "Or does the _puppy_ not like that?" I continue glaring at him, not saying a word. He sighs and shrugs.

"Oh well, even if you won't answer me, I got what I came for. Maybe now with this Blaster Blade I can regain my winning streak at Card Capital." Morikawa says, turning his back to me and walking away quickly. Izaki throws me to the side and runs to catch up with Morikawa. I wince, my side hurting from how I landed on the ground. I can't dwell too much on the pain though, so I try to ignore it and get up and run after them.

I remember seeing a place called Card Capital while passing. I've never actually been in the store itself, but I know that it's the place everyone in the neighborhood tends to go to when they want to play any sort of card game.

I stop in front of Card Capital's entrance to catch my breath. The sign above me proclaims that this is Card Capital, but the store seems too small to be very popular. Nonetheless, I hurry through the front doors.

The place is a lot bigger on the inside than I imagined; there are numerous tables set up to accomodate the customers, as well as a counter filled with different products. Behind the counter, a girl with long, lavender hair looks up from her magazine.

"Something wrong with the card?" I quickly turn my attention to a table to my right. A blonde guy, who I recognize as Taishi Miwa, is standing above Morikawa. He is the one who asks the question. I take the opportunity to jump in.

"I-I want my card back, Morikawa." I tell him.

"Who's he?" The blonde asks.

"Aichi…" Morikawa says, looking a bit regretful.

"Please Morikawa, the card means a lot to me..." I plead. He looks at the brunette sitting across from him.

"I don't _have_ your card anymore." He says.

"That Blaster Blade wouldn't happen to be the card, would it?" Miwa asks, pointing to a familiar card that's sitting in front of the brunette.

"Yes! That's it!" I reach my hand down to take it, but the brunette snatches it. I gape at him.

"Excuse me, but that's my card." I tell him.

"Actually, it's mine now. This guy bet it in a Cardfight and lost. Results of Cardfights to true Vanguard players are the most sacred part of any game." He says calmly. I see Morikawa giving the guy a dirty look out of the corner of my eye.

"B-but it's mine." The teen stands up, his eyes remaining closed.

"The only way it can be taken back is by winning a Vanguard fight."

"Then I challenge you to a fight!" I exclaim, overwhelmed by my own sudden ambition to win. He turns his head to me and looks me straight in the eye.

That's when it hits me.

Standing in front of me is Kai Toshiki.

* * *

**2,028 words.**

**I guess he's made his appearance this chapter. I wanted to push it back to chapter 3, but I wouldn't have known what to write for this chapter then.**

**Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors; I'm going away very soon and I wanted to post a chapter before I did.**

**For the reactions to this new found revelation, don't forget to review! :)**


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